Why is 75MW the threshold in Texas?

ERCOT has studied 75MW+ loads through its Large Load Interconnection process since 2022; Texas Senate Bill 6 (2025) codified and expanded that regime for loads of 75MW or more in aggregate at a single site — PUCT-overseen interconnection standards, disclosure requirements, and last-resort curtailment (or backup-generation deployment) provisions during firm load shed. Sites whose total demand stays under 75MW interconnect through the ordinary distribution process with the serving utility.

What are the advantages of a sub-75MW data center site?

Faster interconnection at distribution level, exemption from the SB6 large-load regime, access to substations and feeders that GW-scale projects cannot use, easier entitlement and community acceptance, and a buyer pool (neoclouds, colocation, AI inference, enterprise) that deploys in 5-75MW increments.

Is 75MW enough for AI workloads?

For a large share of the market, yes. Neocloud GPU clusters, inference serving, colocation halls, and enterprise AI deployments commonly land in the 10-75MW range. Training mega-clusters exceed it, but they are a small number of projects relative to the distributed demand under 75MW.

Can a sub-75MW site expand over time?

Within limits. Sites can be engineered for phased expansion up to the 75MW aggregate site threshold — the regime is triggered by total demand at the site, not by the size of any single phase. Growth beyond 75MW total means entering the large-load framework as designed, with the operating site as an advantage, or developing additional sites in a portfolio. Expansion strategy is an engineering decision made on day one, not an afterthought.

Does staying under 75MW avoid ERCOT oversight entirely?

No. All load in ERCOT operates within ERCOT's market and the serving utility's tariffs. Staying under 75MW avoids the SB6 large-load interconnection regime specifically — the additional study, disclosure, and curtailment framework that applies to 75MW+ single sites.

Insights · 03 — Regulation

The sub-75MW advantage.

Texas Senate Bill 6 drew a regulatory line at 75MW. Which side of that line a site sits on now shapes its interconnection path, its obligations, and its timeline.

What SB6 did

Enacted in 2025, SB6 created a formal framework for large loads — 75MW and above — connecting to the ERCOT grid. Loads over the threshold face additional interconnection requirements: enhanced study and disclosure obligations, transmission screening, provisions for curtailment during grid emergencies, and cost-allocation rules designed to protect other ratepayers from stranded infrastructure.

The intent is sound — Texas is absorbing unprecedented load growth and the grid needs protecting. But the practical effect for developers is that the 75MW line is now a regulatory boundary with real schedule consequences on the far side.

What staying under it means

A site engineered below the threshold interconnects at the distribution level under standard utility processes — no large-load framework and no transmission queue. Sites take standard utility service — including the same firm-load-shed procedures that apply to all Texas load; what they avoid is the additional SB6 large-load curtailment and disclosure regime. The utility studies the load against existing distribution capacity and connects it. That's the structural basis for TPDS's 8–12 week modular delivery window.

Two sides of the line

Sub-75MW · distribution

Standard utility interconnection process

No transmission queue position required

Outside the SB6 large-load framework

Months to energization

75MW+ · large load

Enhanced study & disclosure obligations

Transmission screening and queue exposure

SB6 last-resort curtailment provisions (post-2025 large loads)

Years to energization

Deliberately sized, not capped

Sub-75MW is a product decision, not a ceiling on ambition. Each TPDS site energizes at 35MW with civil work, containment and transformer iron pre-engineered for expansion — and a portfolio of right-sized sites, linked by metro dark fiber where a tenant wants it, serves workloads that scale across sites rather than inside one fence line. Distributed by design. See the portfolio →

This page summarizes regulatory context in general terms and is not legal advice. Requirements evolve — the 75MW threshold is set by statute and implemented by the PUCT, which retains authority to adjust it — and treatment of any specific site and load is confirmed in diligence.